FOREVER DESTINY : Ancient Era Arc 1
Before the Beginning
Episode 7:
"Seer No Evil"
Story Focus: Kokuen-oh and the Conduits' Pasts
By Nekochan
Author's Note
Boy, they've had some freaky adventures, huh? The fun doesn't stop there, though! Oh no! Next up to bat is . . . Kokuen-oh! Let's see we have Armor . . . Swords . . . So Kokuen-oh's Artifact is gonna' be, what, a Shield? Maybe . . . maybe not . . . Can he even reach it? Keep reading to find out, and don't always believe what you see . . . it takes deeper thinking sometimes . . .
Arigatou Minasan! (Thanks everyone!)
Nekochan
(-)(-)(-)
9:05 PM Saturday- M'mtlang, G'gonstrm May 7th- 981 D.A
"The Kahroh is ready for departure, Captain Rafakoh!" Kohshooh called.
"Thank you, Kohshooh, now get your butt on board," R'rafko laughed.
Kohshooh smiled and ran on the ship.
"Where are we headed now, Miss Rafakoh?" Aoh questioned.
"Mycuaja; to the port city of Nabyjacuo, then we're going to go on to Cuomytatos," Rafakoh answered. "You boys will probably stay here for a while, then meet us in Jyracuolato, which is a little to the south." She turned to Shedosh. "That is right, isn't it?"
Shedosh looked over The Map. "Yes . . . Yes, that's the route we need to take," he confirmed.
Rafakoh nodded. "Fine. I'll be on the ship," she said and boarded.
"My Artifact's in Cuomytatos?" Kokuen oh wondered as they were getting ready to leave, "Why would it be there?"
Shedosh shrugged. "Cuomytatos is the second largest city in Mycuaja. That's where I'm originally from."
"I'm not convinced," Kokuen-oh said and shook his head. "What's the clue to my Artifact, Shedosh? I really wish I could read that stupid thing . . ."
"Maybe I can teach you on the trip . . . let's see . . . It was 'Fourth; when songs of the past haunt victims of despair, suddenly it seems that they're no longer there' or 'Time shall run short, escaping the clocks. Seek the dormant Warrior, Fourth, burning within a heart of rock.' A heart of rock?" Shedosh said out loud. He was rather confused at the final words.
"Well, I think the two middle parts are more important . . ." Kokuen-oh insisted. "Cuomytatos means 'to train,' doesn't it?"
"Why, yes," Shedosh responded, quite surprised. I didn't think Kokuen-oh knew Mycuajan . . .
"Do you think there's something special about Cuomytatos, Kokuen-oh?" Lord Saberstryke wondered.
"I believe that I'm meant to do some training in that city . . . to hone my abilities as a Seer and warrior," Kokuen-oh whispered. " 'Seek the dormant Warrior.' Maybe it's implying that my fighting skills haven't been focused yet and I'm still very new to combat."
Shedosh nodded. "But what about 'songs of the past' and 'victims of despair'?"
Kokuen-oh said nothing, but looked to the prow of the ship, where T'myra stood looking out to the sea.
(-)
This is goin' t' be a long trip . . . T'myra grumbled in her head. She was resting her chin on the Kahroh's prow and trying to forget her troubles by staring at the horizon.
"Hey, T'myra."
T'myra lifted her head and turned around to see Captain Rafakoh walking towards her.
R'rafko leaned on the railing on T'myra's left. "I heard that you had a fight with Hariel. Do you want to talk about it?"
Tamer put her chin back on the prow, sulking, "No."
"That doesn't sound very convincing to me, T'myra," R'rafko prodded. "Come on; what happened?"
" 'Ariel's just a thick-'eaded boy, that's all," Tamer moped.
"And . . ."
T'myra sighed, "An' I thought 'ee was a lil more aware . . . o' m' . . . 'ow we . . . Ah, forget it." T'myra turned away.
R'rafko put her right hand on T'myra's left shoulder. "Now, T'myra, you and he are how old? About 18, right?" She saw T'myra's head shake slightly, so she continued, "You don't think that maybe you two might have had some kind of misunderstanding? Have you seen how sad he's been these past few hours? He can't stand not being in your good graces!"
"I shouldn't 'ave t' tell 'im 'ow I feel!" T'myra fumed.
"Why not?" R'rafko asked, "Sometimes two people just feel so awkward about each other that all they do is dance around one another until one of them finally confesses!"
"Then it should be 'im," T'myra insisted. I know what 'appens when feelin's are only one-sided . . .
R'rafko sighed. "T'myra, I'm going to be honest with you. Now, please listen to me- Look at me?"
Reluctantly, T'myra turned to face the Captain.
"On the way back here, Lord Saberstryke told me about what happened with you and Kokuen-oh in your past-" R'rafko began.
T'myra narrowed her eyes slightly due to the anger she was feeling, but gave in to the sadness that had crept up during their conversation. She listened to the Captain, tears in the edges of her eyes.
"I've also seen you cling to and flirt with Hariel. There's not a doubt in my mind that Hariel likes you, if he smiles and blushes happily at those actions! It could just be that he's afraid of you, T'myra. At least, he's afraid of what you might do to him if he's wrong about the way you feel about him," R'rafko explained.
Tamer's expression had changed to a softer side. "Are ya' . . . 'Ow can ya' be so sure? From what 'ee said t' me . . . 'ee sounded like 'ee didn't know what was goin' on . . ."
"That I can't answer for you," R'rafko admitted. "I need to get this ship going now, but, T'myra, please talk to the poor boy, won't you?" With that last request, R'rafko left to take control of the ship.
T'myra put her chin back on the railing. 'Ariel . . .
(-)
9:20 PM Saturday- K'kom G'gonstrm May 7th- 981 D.A
"+You two are incompetent! We leave you alone for- Where were you when F'frvir was destroyed+" Arago raged at the two remaining S'srut brothers.
"+We were burnt to a crisp by some kind of fire spell and couldn't even hear or speak+" K'knkir insisted.
"+No excuses! You were paid - and paid well, might I add - to stop the Conduits from regaining the Third Artifact! Now they have two Artifacts and are on their way to getting their third+" Badamon yelled.
"+We feel bad about it too, ya' know! F'frvir was our leader and older brother! We wish to avenge him! Let us help you, for free, to repay our loss+" S'swrtir pleaded.
"+Very well, but you must accept some powers I can give you, to make you more useful.+" Badamon smirked a little.
"+More power+" K'knkir grinned at the proposition.
"+Please, show us this strength+" S'swrtir laughed menacingly at the ensuing gift.
Badamon smiled, his fangs showing. Foolish Monsters . . . You will never break free of my spell! Badamon held his hands in front of him, his eyes glowing as the two Monsters' bodies began to do the same.
Dark energy lashed out from Badamon's hands and hit both K'knkir and S'swrtir. They began to scream in pain, but it turned to manic laughter at the power they were attaining. Suddenly, the energy consumed them and Badamon was released from the magic as he began to watch his creations form.
Dust granules began to form on the Monsters' skin and then it was absorbed into their skin, almost seeming to melt it and merge with it so their skin was now made of sand. The dark energy engulfed their body parts and formed separate armored plates around them, in shades of dark green and blood red. Then a cloth the same color as their skin, a sickly greenish-gray color, emerged from their skin, to cover it.
The end result of K'knkir and S'swrtir's transformation was that they became Badamon's newest evil allies. They had light armor and armored face plates on that allowed only their eyes to show through, which now glowed red.
"+What power+" K'knkir laughed evilly, or was it S'swrtir? They both looked identical now!
"+These new armors and bodies will give you minor power over sand. You can meld into the sand, become sand yourselves, move so fast in a sandstorm that you appear to be everywhere, make mirages form when you are in a desert, and transform supple, earthly things into rock and sand+" Badamon informed them, "+Therefore, you are now the Sandstrikers+"
"+What shall our first task be, Badamon+" S'swrtir demanded enthusiastically, or did K'knkir do so?
"+We want you to go to Cuomytatos, and await the arrival of the Conduits, to stop them from getting the Fourth Artifact. If at all possible, see if you can get the Artifact yourselves+" Badamon ordered.
"+Yes, master . . .+" they chorused as they turned into sand and blew away.
"+Now we have two allies under your control . . . This is wonderful progress, Badamon+" Antulpan cheered.
"+I see you are liking the use of those bracers, eh+" Badamon motioned to the black bracers with archaic, silver characters on them that Antulpan now wore on his lower arms.
"+Yes! Being able to speak two languages is much better when it comes so naturally through a spell+" Talpa insisted.
That's not the only thing those bracers will do . . . Badamon chuckled to himself, The Sandstrikers weren't the first ones to be put under that spell . . .
(-)
9:30 PM Saturday- H'htarsk Ocean, G'gonstrm May 7th- 981 D.A.
"Will he be okay?" Rafakoh asked, slightly worried. She and Saberstryke were carrying Kokuen-oh into the room he'd been assigned on the Kahroh after he'd collapsed on deck. "You two were talking about The Prophecy and then he just fell over?"
"I think he'll be fine in a little while. This has already happened once and he recovered very quickly, even though it was because of his friend's flask that was meant to wake deep sleepers. . ." Shedosh informed her. "I don't know what else we should do," he mumbled as they set him down on his bed.
"He seems to be in pain, though!" Rafakoh pointed out, for Kokuen-oh's brow was sweaty and he constantly moved about on his sheets. His face also depicted some kind of anger or pain.
"I know Captain, but if he's receiving a prophecy, then we need to let him sleep," Shedosh responded.
"Come on, R'rufu, let's go back on deck," Saberstryke helped the Captain back upstairs, though he could tell by her facial expression that she was still concerned.
As they walked up the steps, she spoke to the Lord, "At least let T'myra know what happened for me, would you? She'll want to know; she's bound to get a little concerned if she doesn't see him in a while."
"Don't worry about a thing," the Lord brushed some stray hair out of the Captain's face. "I'll take care of it; you go back to the helm." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and they parted.
(-)
'What is this place?' Kokuen-oh looked around, and realized he was in Mysecuamaja.
He turned around and found himself next to a small house that seemed vaguely familiar.
'This looks like Shedosh's house . . . but I thought he lived in Sahenangell now?' He wondered as he walked in. 'Shedosh? Are you here?'
A pale-colored, Mystic child with white hair barely reaching his shoulders was watching a grown Angel with light brown hair meddle with some potions and dust on a table.
"(What're you doing?)" the Mystic child asked with inquisitive, light blue eyes. He didn't look any older than 9 years old.
"(If all goes well with this experiment, my young friend, you will share my extended age ability as an Angel, and I will share your magical powers as a Mystic,)" the Angel responded with concentrated, dark blue eyes. His hair was light brown, but he must have only been 18 years old physically . . . of course that made him around 36 in D.A. Years.
'What in all of Cheakir is going on here?' Kokuen-oh asked out loud, 'Am I invisible? Can't you see me? Wait- I can tell they're speaking Mycuajan . . . But I can understand it? How is that possible-'
"(But . . . isn't that dangerous?)" the Mystic child questioned.
"(We won't know until we try,)" the Angel replied, pouring a disgusting-looking, yellow-colored, foul-smelling liquid into a vial of glittering, lavender, fine-ground dust. The yellow mist coming from the vial turned black and curled around the entire room as well as the limbs of the man and boy. Its scent was that of sweet flowers.
The Mystic was fearful of this black fog, as if it were the gates to the Underworld.
The Angel was ecstatic, however. "(I've done it! Let's see what this solution can do!)" He brought a great amount of the fragrance to his nose and mouth as he breathed it in.
The Mystic child took a small sniff at it, but began to cough and covered his mouth. "(It doesn't smell that good to me!)" he spoke with a muffled voice.
Unfortunately, it was too late for the Angel; his vision was becoming hazy and he began to stumble back to the table.
'This is insane! I feel as if I can't move my body!' Kokuen-oh said as he watched what transpired. 'I want to help them!'
"(Wha - what's wrong?)" the Mystic child demanded.
"(I'm . . . not sure . . .)" the Angel sighed. He was starting to bleed from his mouth and from the rims of his eyes.
The Mystic gasped as his friend's eyes changed color.
The Angel's eyes were now stained red - a dark maroon shade of blood.
"(I can help you, with my magic! I know I can! You've taught me enough! Hang on!)" the Mystic child insisted.
"(But you haven't had . . . any training from real . . . Mystics or Mages-)" the Angel stopped in mid-sentence as his oxygen was cut off and he began to cough blood. He collapsed to the floor.
"(NO!)" the Mystic child cried as a bright red light engulfed him and a white light outlined it.
"(Take my body,
save my friend;
make it mine;
On him, I depend!)"
A shining blue light enveloped the Angel. The two auras collided in a great burst of white light, which dissolved the black mist. When the auras subsided, the man was the one who was standing and he held the boy in his arms. The man now looked like a Mystic, while the boy looked like an Angel.
Kokuen-oh now realized who the man and the boy were. He spoke their respective names in awe, barely above a whisper, 'Shedosh . . . Hariel . . .'
The grown Mystic spoke and opened his now pale blue eyes that were wet with tears, "(Thank you, my dear boy. Although I was selfish, you used your magic on my behalf to give me this new body. I only hope that I can cast powerful enough magic to help you, now . . . and yet, I feel that you were healed in the transference . . . I guess the experiment did work, in a way . . . I can only hope you don't have to remember any of this.)"
The image of the room faded.
(-)
Now Kokuen-oh was in a castle . . . a very familiar castle . . .
'No . . . No - not this place again! It's haunted my dreams so many times already- T'myra . . .'
He saw her walking with his younger self, Ch'tsu K'kbo, the Demidon Half-Breed. She was being her usual, cheerful, boisterous self - it had been her usual nature for that time, anyway.
"+I can't wait 'til we're married, Ch'tsu, even though it's a long way off . . . but I'm patient. I guess I just 'ate bein' able t' like ya' so much, but not bein' able t' show it . . . without causin' a commotion anyway . . .+" she laughed, "+It sounds silly, doesn't it+"
Kokuen-oh knew what his younger self was going to say . . . 'Don't! NO! Don't say it! It'll break her heart! DON'T!'
"+No, T'myra, it's not silly . . .+"
T'myra smiled as he said it.
"+It's insane!+" he growled as she gasped.
"+Ch'tsu . . . What are ya' sayin'-+" Tamer tried to speak.
"+I won't marry a weak Half-Breed like you, T'myra+" Ch'tsu answered.
'STOP IT! You don't mean that! You're being tricked by your dad, don't you see that? And he's being tricked by the Demidons! DON'T DO THIS TO HER . . . I can't see this over again . . . Please, take me out of here . . . Out of this nightmare . . .' Kokuen-oh begged, burying his face in his hands.
(-)
His hands came away from his face and he could see that he was in a very different castle . . . one that he had only seen once . . . and that was before the Demidons drained his blood of all its evil riches.
'Now I'm almost glad they drained my blood . . . It helped me see the light, after all . . .'
It was the Black Stone House of Royalty; the S'sgaw N'nmba Castle in K'kom G'gonstrm. He was even in the great hall!
He realized who the armored figure making such a ruckus was at once.
'Lord Saberstryke, of course. Well - before we started this adventure anyway.'
This Lord Saberstryke still had his tail and was a little younger. He was surprised that the Lord had his helmet off, but perhaps that was because he wanted his face to be seen by the other Lords present.
"+I do not see the rhyme or reason for these countless attacks on our Half-Breed populous! I demand, as a Lord of the House of N'nshkoe and of this good house, S'sgaw N'nmba, to be told+" the Lord insisted.
"+As for the House of N'nshkoe, it is a minor house that holds little power overall, Lord K'kedki. As for the House of N'nmba, every Demidon present and ever born is a member of this House+" the acting leader motioned to the whole room, "+Therefore, Lord K'kedki N'nshkoe, you need not know our reasons for ordering you to do our bidding and do not have the power to overrule us+"
"+Then you should get yourselves another lackey, because I WILL NOT be lied to by this empire any longer+"
The other Lords gasped at the statement he made; his tone had changed from distinctly formal to outright degrading.
"+From now on, I, K'kedki N'nshkoe, vow to halt the actions of this S'sgaw N'nmba House if it requires my death! I take my leave.+" He thrust his hand out to the side, billowing his cape as he did so, and turned to leave, but was stopped by some guards. Saberstryke merely shoved them aside with his sword and ran for the nearest window, out of which he flew, saying, "+I have never broken a vow, Lords of the S'sgaw N'nmba House! You can be sure I will not break this one+"
Kokuen-oh didn't understand what was going on . . . Why was he seeing all of these events from the past? 'What is the purpose of this?' Kokuen-oh demanded, but his only answer was a bright flash of light.
(-)
When he came to his senses, he could barely breath, because there was so little oxygen in the air.
'Where am I?' he croaked.
There was no answer but his own echo. Everywhere there was fog, but not the deathly black fog he had seen earlier.
'Where am I?' he asked again.
Instead of a verbal answer, the fog parted and he could see that he was in a network of caves, with the other Conduits . . .
"I say we open numba' two." Tamer motioned to a door on the right.
"We can't take any chances! That could be the door that has our doom in it!" Shedosh warned.
"Well, it's not doing us any good just standing here. We need to make a decision, soon, or the time to get Kokuen-oh's Artifact will be up and we'll all be dead because of the little oxygen in here!" Saberstryke reminded them, "That was the trick about this Artifact; there's a time limit . . . on our lives." Saberstryke's hand moved towards one of the doors.
'WAIT!' Kokuen-oh couldn't see which door the Lord had reached for but he didn't care, he just knew that neither of the doors should be opened. 'DON'T OPEN IT!'
His eyes fell to the handle which was already turning . . . from the inside.
(-)
Hariel looked down at the sleeping Angel, a mixture of expressions running across his face. He could tell that Kokuen-oh was distressed, but that wasn't enough to distract him from the main reason he came down below decks. She was on deck.
"Well, you were right, Kokuen-oh . . ." Hariel sighed glumly, "I waited too long. Now . . . I may have lost her forever . . ."
Kokuen-oh made no signs that he understood what was going on, but Hariel continued.
"I mean, come on- The way she holds grudges, she might not even speak to me for the rest of the trip," he said bitterly. He chuckled ruefully, "It's funny, you know . . . She's the reason I'm even here right now! If it hadn't been for her telling me about her past and what she was planning on doing . . . and if she hadn't looked at me with those gorgeous eyes . . ."
Hariel slumped in his chair, "Aren't we a pair? At least you had an excuse for making her mad at you . . . I might as well have done it on purpose - that was so stupid of me!" He held his head with his hands and gripped his hair tightly. "Why would I mislead her like that? Why? I like her! I like her a lot! Kohmah, I might as well say it . . . it's not like it matters anymore . . ."
He let his anger die a little bit and breathed deeply before continuing his monologue, "I love that little demon . . . no, she's a Dekata- Well, it doesn't matter what she is . . . I love her, Kokuen-oh . . . and now . . . Now, I don't know what to do. You were supposed to be awake so you could give some advice, but no - another prophecy . . . Well, it can't be as bad as the reality I'm facing right now, I can tell you that!"
Hariel stood up and sighed once more, "Good luck with whatever it is that you're doing in there." He turned around to exit the room, but the sight of a shadowy figure near the doorway made him stop dead in his tracks.
It was an awfully short shadow.
Tamer . . . Hariel's mouth hung open. He couldn't speak; too many questions were plaguing his thoughts. Did she hear me? How much did she hear? Is she angry at me? What's going through her mind-
" 'Ariel, I-"
"DON'T OPEN IT!" Kokuen-oh screamed as he sat up in his bed, eyes wide with terror.
T'myra and Hariel nearly jumped out of their skin.
How did I get here? Oh yeah . . . My prophecies knock me out . . . my friends must have brought me here- Kokuen-oh thought as he covered his eyes with his hands before looking up.
"Kokuen-oh? Are ya' okay?" Tamer walked around to the head of his bed.
"Yeah, Tamer, I- I just woke up," Kokuen-oh lied sleepily.
"Ya' just woke up from a prophecy; that's somethin' that needs talked about!" T'myra insisted, then waited for a response.
Hariel sat back down in the chair he just got out of, a million things going through his mind. Yet he remained silent. His eyes were fixed on Tamer, but he didn't really comprehend any words that came out of her mouth. He was watching just her movements.
Kokuen-oh tried to think of what his prophecy could mean this time . . . Normally my prophecies come almost immediately before I need them . . . but this can't have happened yet, because we haven't even gotten to Mycuaja yet and I know all the others are from the past . . . What could this mean? Why don't I see it . . . As Kokuen-oh contemplated these things, he noticed that Shedosh and the Lord Saberstryke had come into the room
"Hey, Kokuen-oh!" Shedosh called, "We're glad to see that you're awake. That must have been one strange vision for you to have screamed so loud . . . What was that prophecy about, anyway?"
Kokuen-oh was silent for a minute, but it seemed like a year. "I- I don't know . . ." he admitted.
"What do you mean?" Lord Saberstryke asked, extremely confused.
"I mean that I don't know what my prophecy meant!" Kokuen-oh yelled.
The others were taken aback by this action.
"Can you describe the prophecy to us?" Shedosh questioned gingerly.
"I don't think that anyone - especially you, Shedosh - wants me to," Kokuen-oh retorted. "For the most part, it wasn't really a prophecy at all; it was more like a whole bunch of memories thrown into my dreams," he explained.
"What could possibly be in the past that would affect us now?" K'kedki wondered.
"Maybe . . . I think . . . I'm starting to learn why we were chosen as Conduits," Kokuen-oh replied. Why didn't I think of that just a moment ago? "It all has to do with who we are . . ." he looked at Shedosh pointedly. "Or what we are."
The other Conduits looked at Shedosh with very puzzled expressions on their faces.
"T'myra is a Half-Breed; Lord Saberstryke is a fallen Demidon, of his own choice; and I'm a blood-drained Demidon Seer. However . . . where would Hariel and Shedosh fit in to a mix like that?" he offered the question to the other Conduits, since he already knew the answer.
"Shedosh, what is he talking about?" Hariel asked, this last bit of dialogue having jarred him to his senses.
"He has a right to know, Shedosh," Kokuen-oh insisted.
"Do you really think he needs to know?" Shedosh pleaded. I seriously hope it's not what I think he means . . . "I don't want to hurt him-"
"Hurt me?" Hariel was a little frightened now.
"After years of deceit, I think he deserves to know," Kokuen-oh affirmed.
Shedosh's expression slipped into gloom and embarrassment.
"If you don't tell the whole story to him - and to everyone else, Shedosh - I'll tell him what came to me in my prophecy and that will more likely than not just cause confusion," Kokuen-oh threatened.
"Okay, okay . . . Let's just all sit down somewhere, please," Shedosh requested.
(-)
10:10 PM Saturday- Marymarysa Ocean, Mycuaja May 7th- 981 D.A.
The Conduits elected to seat themselves in the dining room below deck for Shedosh's storytelling.
"The first thing you all have to know is that . . . I'm not really a Mystic, and Hariel's not an Angel-"
Everyone aside from Kokuen-oh gasped at this revelation, but Shedosh continued.
"We're the exact opposite. I was born an Angel, but in Cuomytatos, where I grew up as well, amidst all that magic. Hariel was probably born in Mysecuamaja, since that's where I found him, but he was a Mystic. Even though he was an orphan - he could remember that his name was Racuyl Aryn, but not his parents or their names - he had potential and I could see that. He was so kind, so humble, always putting everyone else before himself or his own well being. The story I tell is that if he tripped on someone's shoe, he'd apologize and ask to shine it for them, even if he had ripped his pants and the person had purposefully put their shoe out in the street to trip a lowly orphan boy.
"Growing up around so much magic made me quite jealous, being an Angel with no magical powers in my veins at all, so I elected to put all my efforts into getting Hariel taught how to use his powers properly, but no one would do such a thing. They passed him up to be an orphan with no potential at all; they thought he was just a runt. I knew better, though, so I began to dabble in what magic I could, as an Angel. I was never that successful.
"One day, I had the idea that if Hariel couldn't use his powers, then maybe I could use his powers! I had the notion that if I concocted a potion for the two of us to share our abilities, then he would become a Mystic with the extended age capabilities of Angels and Saints, and I would gain the magical powers I had craved for so long that was bestowed solely upon Mystics and Mages. That was my last night as an Angel; Hariel was approaching his 10th birthday, I supposed, and I was 36 at the time. I can hardly believe it's been six years . . .
"I had mixed a potion with some dust, and it created a black mist that smelled of flowers-" Shedosh was interrupted by a small gasp from Hariel.
"I- I remember that! A black, deadly mist that was so tempting to smell, but I resisted it and covered my nose!" Hariel cried.
Through all of this, the other Conduits were listening intently to Shedosh's story.
"Yes and I thought that I had succeeded, so I breathed in the mist. It turned out to be extremely poisonous - probably deadly - and I collapsed right before Hariel's eyes-" Shedosh was again interrupted by a frightened, but excited, Hariel.
"That too! I remember that too! I cast a spell, didn't I? Something for us to share our life-force so that you could stay alive . . . but that's the last thing I remember. How come I never remembered any of this before?" Hariel asked aloud. I'm not even feeling any headaches!
"Well, the end result of Hariel's spell was that, essentially, we switched races, but retained a small bit of our original selves." Shedosh motioned to his face, "It was odd what stuck; it ended up being our hair color and skin tone, but that was it. I surmise that Hariel's eyes are maroon now because of the blood in my eyes when we made the switch.
"In any case, I managed to heal Hariel's remaining wounds from the Connection spell, though most of it was healed in the process, for some reason. Anyway, after that he seemed to not realize that anything had changed, or that anything at all had happened that night . . . it was as if he thought he had always been an orphan from Sahenangell that I had brought to Mycuaja; that's why I changed his name to Hariel Akuen. I couldn't change my name, though; thankfully, no one has ever asked about it . . . I guess everyone focuses on my last name and realizes it's of Mycuajan origin. The point is that I assumed Hariel had lost some of his memories because the spell had affected his aging; he was then physically only 4 or 5 years old, while I had aged to a little over 28. However, I noticed over the years that he aged a little faster than normal Angels and I aged a little slower than normal Mystics, though it seemed to be about the same aging for both of us. All you need to know is that Hariel is actually 18 and I'm really only 44 years old.
"I then began to learn how to cast the spells available to me properly as well as even more powerful ones. I guess I was so focused on my new magical abilities that Hariel thought it best to leave. I tried to convince him to stay, but he said that he 'felt drawn to go back to Sahenangell,' and I didn't have the heart to tell him that he had never actually been there. That was two years ago and I figured that I'd better go with him in case he got into any trouble," Shedosh reached over and ruffled Hariel's hair, "he certainly did get himself into a bit of a mess."
Hariel hugged Shedosh, "I don't care what we are, Shedosh; you took care of me. You'll always be my friend and mentor."
"Thank you, Hariel. I knew you were a kind boy," Shedosh returned the hug.
"Well, Kokuen-oh, this is indeed a strange revelation, but I wonder why we needed to know this? Why were we chosen as Conduits?" the Lord asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, Lord Saberstryke. However, I can tell you what else I saw in my vision, now that you know what to expect," Kokuen-oh explained. He turned to Tamer, "Unfortunately, the next part of the vision was about us."
She looked like she was going to cry. "Kokuen-oh, please don't! I've already 'ad t' rememba' those times too often in the past couple o' days! They already know what 'appened; please don't bring it up again!" Tamer begged, covering her face with her hands, "It's just too 'orrible a memory t' think o'!"
Hariel intuitively reached out to her, but let his hand fall short of her back. He leaned over and rested his arms on his knees as he looked down at the floor, a completely sullen look on his face, just like before the topic of his past had come up.
The Lord Saberstryke noticed this action, but said nothing. They haven't made up yet . . .
Kokuen-oh looked directly at her and said, "As you wish, Lady T'myra."
Tamer gasped a little and looked up at him. It had been so long since he'd addressed her that way.
Kokuen-oh nodded to her and then spoke up, "Well, that leaves one person left." He turned to the Lord.
"Wonderful," K'kedki grumbled. "Well, go ahead. I guess there's no need to keep it to yourself."
"Well, what I saw was when the Lord took his final stand against the Demidon-Lords of K'kom G'gonstrm. After that, he relinquished his place in that city and flew away, promising to stop their vile ways," Kokuen-oh summed up.
"Yep, that's pretty much what happened. After that I went to Mycuaja and found T'myra's Uncle." The Lord chuckled, "Actually, it's more like he found me."
"Well, anyway, that was all of the 'memories'. The last part was just weird." Kokuen-oh shook his head, "I still don't think I understand it."
"Then tell us! We need to know, if it has anything to do with finding your Artifact," Shedosh insisted.
"Let's see . . ." Kokuen-oh paused to think. "We were in a large network of caves. We had two doors in front of us. Everyone knew we had to choose a door because of the time limit on my Artifact-"
Shedosh then interrupted Kokuen-oh. "Time limit on your Artifact?" he asked.
Kokuen-oh nodded the affirmative. "Supposedly the air in the caves would only last so long and we had to get out before it ran out. Anyway, we didn't want to open a door because it could be a trap, but we knew we had to keep going. Lord Saberstryke reached for a handle when I cried out for him not to open it, but he never got to the handle. It began to turn from the inside . . ."
The Conduits sighed in contemplation.
"Remember, this can be changed and it can be a little hazy as to what will really happen, given how we act in response to it," Kokuen-oh explained. "That's just the nature of my prophecies."
"And so, our lives get even more complicated," Lord Saberstryke grumbled with sarcasm.
(-)
11:30 PM Saturday- Marymarysa Ocean, Mycuaja May 7th- 981 D.A
"We're approaching Mycuaja, now, Captain Rafakoh!" Aoh called down from the crow's nest.
"Thank you, Aoh! That's great! Now keep a sharp lookout for any oncoming ships!" Rafakoh called, then felt arms around her waist and a head on her shoulder.
"You're a natural, Captain," K'kedki breathed, kissing her neck.
"And you're a sweetheart, Lord," Rafakoh laughed, bringing her arm up by his head, "but you can't do that when I'm working; remember what happened last time?"
"If it involves you breathing life into me, then-" he stopped as R'rafko glared up at him playfully. "Okay . . ." The Lord relinquished his hold on her. After massaging her shoulders and kissing her quickly on the cheek, he returned to the Conduits.
"Who would've thought the great Lord Saberstryke could be so soft-" Shedosh chuckled.
T'myra and Hariel looked at each other, blushed, and then turned away.
Kokuen-oh noticed and cleared his throat. "Back to what's important . . . We need to figure out how in the world I'm going to heighten my abilities once we're in town."
"I can help you with the combat," Saberstryke offered.
"I could help you with understanding your prophecies," Shedosh insisted.
"That sounds great . . ." Kokuen-oh agreed, but he still wasn't convinced it could be that simple. There was something missing and he couldn't see it . . . What is it? I know I'm missing something - something very important . . . so very crucial . . . Why can't I see it? This frustrated Kokuen-oh to no end. He had to find out what was being hidden from him!
(-)(-)(-)
Continued in: Here's Sand in Your Eyes
2/16/2001
Well . . . I tried to cram it all into one episode, and it's just not gonna' work . . . So I guess it's gonna' spill over into another episode. Fitting, since Kokuen-oh didn't get as much of the spotlight as I had hoped. I'll catch you guys in the next episode, Ja ne!
2/3/2005
I apologize for this one taking a little longer to post; I realized that I have to go back and fix a whole bunch of quotation marks, since curly-braces don't show up on this server. Not to mention the fact that my computer is still in the shop. (Sad face) I had the files on another computer, so that was no problem, but this one doesn't want to access the Internet!
In any case, how am I doing? Good? Bad? Let me know! And by the way, PLEASE post a review! Especially if you notice little errors and / or find yourself asking, "Who's this Tamerah girl? And Shidooshi? I thought Saberstryke's first name was K'kedki? Then there's Urufuko..." those are all old names that I somehow didn't catch and change, so please tell me when you find them!
2/10/2005 and 2/28/2005
Actually, a friend managed to get my secondary computer back online, so that's a big improvement. However, I'm still having one difficulty with this server: the fact that they delete most of my punctuation marks when I have characters speaking! Grrr . . . I'm not entirely sure how to fix this problem yet, but I'll keep you posted. Update: Still have no clue what to do about those punctuation marks, but I have my computer back and that is wonderful (Big smile). This should be the last time I go over all of the chapters before Episode 8. I did some minor wordsmithing and clarified some things with Shedosh and Hariel's past, but that's about it.
4/1/2005
More restructuring, but that's honestly all that got changed other than me fixing some time issues. Minor wordsmithing. Maybe now the server will do it right. (sigh)
Nekochan